A bill of rights for Northern Ireland would end the need for parties in the assembly to designate themselves solely as unionist or nationalist, the SDLP leader Mark Durkan predicted this weekend. The Foyle MP said that a 'strong and robust' bill of rights could be the beginning of the end to sectarian designation in Northern Ireland politics. Unionists are still resisting the implementation of the bill which would, if introduced, have equal legal clout to the European Human Rights Act.

In a speech to the British-Irish Association conference in Oxford, Mr Durkan said the designation that a party was either unionist or nationalist had been necessary at the time of the Good Friday agreement 10 years ago. But the protection of minority interests could now be enshrined in a bill of rights, he argued, while the d'Hondt voting system would protect political mandates in any future executive.

'I remember, at the time, saying that the system of designation was necessary because of what we were coming from, but should not be necessary where we were going,' he said. 'As we move towards a fully sealed and settled process we should be preparing to think about how and when to remove some of the ugly scaffolding needed during the construction of the new edifice.'

He added: 'If we are serious about a truly shared future then we have to allow for truly shared politics where parties can - and have to - appeal across the traditional divides. The fault line in our society will still be there but it should not determine the party political cleavages for future generations.'